Beck Center president has nothing but bravos for the region: Sarah Crump's My Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland native Cindy Einhouse got her first taste of theater at Charles Mooney Junior High School. Now she is president and chief executive officer of the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood.

In between, she has been involved with or directed multimillion-dollar fundraising campaigns for PlayhouseSquare theaters, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Obviously, Einhouse, who performed for a year in "Stompin' at the State" in addition to her first job as a PlayhouseSquare receptionist, has theater in her blood. Or is it the other way around?

One of her most memorable interactive audience experiences was at the Beck Center's production of "Evil Dead The Musical," said Einhouse, 51, who lives in Lakewood with her husband, Tom, and their two sons. Those in the first few rows were in the fake-blood splatter zone.

What fun, she said. "I love working at a place that has to be concerned about trajectory."

Give us a Charles Mooney Junior High School memory.

Our ninth-grade class performed Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." I played the role of Kate and remember so vividly my terrifically talented classmates and wonderful teachers who directed and produced the show.

The person who stood out the most was Drew Carey, who played the lead role of Frederic. He had been kind of a shy guy in class, but the girls really noticed him after that because of his beautiful singing voice.

Talk about the North Coast Women's Sailing Association, which you helped begin.

When I started sailing in 1987, it was very unusual for women to own boats or to skipper. A small group of women got together in 1995 and decided to put together the NCWSA, and we kicked it off in 1996 with a fundraiser featuring world-renowned skipper and author Dawn Riley, part of the all-women America's Cup team in 1992.

View full sizeScott Shaw / The PDCindy Einhouse at Edgewater Yacht Club. The president and CEO of the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood took up sailboat racing in 1987. Her boat is named Ovation.NCWSA is still going strong today at Edgewater Yacht Club, which has hosted the group since the beginning. Membership is open to the public (ncwsa.net). EYC boat owners lend their boats and coach women who are learning to sail. Many women now own and race sailboats, and I believe NCWSA had a strong influence. I love the motto: Sail Like a Girl!

Restaurants you like?

I have a number of favorites in Lakewood, Ohio City and Tremont. My favorite place to go for coffee and to have business meetings is the Beck Caf . I love the atmosphere and the wonderful art Paul Sykes [Beck Caf owner] has on the walls. In the summertime, my husband, Tom, and I ride our bicycles to the courtyard for the free concerts.

Drink of choice?

Captain and soda -- at the Edgewater Yacht Club bar.

Lessons learned in Cleveland schools?

The schools I attended in the Cleveland public school system were excellent with lots of well-rounded programming, especially music. Most of the kids that I went to school with had very little money, but it didn't matter because we got plenty of experiences from the schools that we couldn't have afforded otherwise.

Growing up in a family with relatively low income but a strong appreciation for education and culture greatly influenced my career in many ways. I've never developed any sense of entitlement and realize that the best things in life often don't come easily.

Give us an Old Brooklyn memory.

I went to Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, and we each had our own gardens in the back of the school. We would ride our bicycles over there in the summertime with a big basket on the front so we could take home the corn, beans, tomatoes, etc., after we spent time weeding and hoeing.

When I was older, the Honey Hut ice cream store opened at the end of my street, and that became a family favorite.

Name a Cleveland gem often overlooked.

I think Cleveland as a city is a gem that is often overlooked. There is an enormously generous philanthropic tradition. Arts and culture experiences are vast and hugely accessible. Good-quality housing is affordable compared to many other cities, and Lake Erie is a terrific asset. We would never be able to afford to own and race a sailboat in most other big cities.

What do Cleveland audiences want to see?

It seems to me that Cleveland audiences appreciate variety, good quality and regional premieres. There is a lot of theater in this town because there is a strong market for it.

Describe your home.

We purchased our second Lakewood home in 1992, and it looked like a haunted house. We bought it from the estate of a woman who had lived there for 47 years by herself and had never done any home improvements.

Believe me, there is nothing charming about antique plumbing and electrical systems. We had to replace all of that before we could even start on the kitchen and bathrooms. There are 57 windows, and not one had a storm window or screen when we moved in. Fortunately, Tom [vice president of real estate services for PlayhouseSquare] knows a lot about restoration, and we were able to accomplish a lot before our boys were born.

What do you love about old area homes?

What we love about our Lakewood home is the openness and classic architectural features. We frequently take walks around our neighborhood and go to the end of Summit Avenue to check out the weather and boating conditions on Lake Erie.

Where did you and Tom meet?

We met at PlayhouseSquare. I started working there right out of college [Kent State University] in 1980 as the receptionist, and he started a few months later in the theaters through his job as a production assistant with Belkin Productions.

In 1981, I got the part of a "Dime-a-Dance Girl" in PlayhouseSquare's production of "Stompin' at the State" and performed every weekend for over a year in addition to my regular job. Tom always worked the shows, and then we would go with the rest of the cast and crew to Yesterday's, a bar in the Allen Theatre lobby (pre-restoration.) Tom and I never got around to dating but just hung around along with the other PlayhouseSquare staff until we eventually discovered that we were committed to each other.

What was your 1983 wedding reception like?

Our wedding reception was in the Palace Theatre lobby before the theater was restored. Only half the chandeliers were working, and there were many holes in the walls.

Our caterer was PlayhouseSquare's food and beverage manager Thom Thurin, who had to run extension cords from the back of the Palace stage to hot plates on the balcony. He and his wife, Joan, catered for 250 people that night -- an incredible feat, and I have no idea how they did it. We danced to a trio that jazz pianist George Foley put together for us. It was the best party ever!

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